This remains the most common type of betting, and there are hundreds of online betting firms. It’s worth opening an account with a few of them, since they offer generous free bets when you register, and then you’ll have a choice of where to bet depending on the odds they offer.

In terms of how odds are displayed there hasn’t been much change in the way traditional bookmakers have done this since the dawn of time. Anybody who has ever placed a bet, whether it be annually on the Grand National or weekly on a football coupon will be familiar with fractional odds (2/1 or 10/1 for example).

Things get a little more complicated when we have an odds on shot (i.e. 4/6 or 2/5) where the number on the right hand side is larger than the one on the left. But essentially it is the same theory; the number on the right of the slash is your stake and the number on the left is your winnings relative to amount staked (any winning bet will see your stake plus your winnings returned). Odds of 2/5 would imply that the bettor stands to make a £20 profit on a £50 bet, whilst odds of 4/1 would see a £200 profit on a winning £50 bet.

In recent years a lot of punters have defected from traditional bookmakers to the exchanges where they can get better odds (more of that later) but there is one area where they still hold the upper hand over exchanges and that is the specials and giveaways. Whether it is money back specials on first goal scorer markets or player and manager specials, the exchanges cannot compete with them here.

It is always worth scanning the various bookmaker sites to see where you can benefit from these deals. As this can be a laborious task The Betting Blog will take away the drudgery by bringing you the best money back specials from across the web on a regular basis.

Recommended Bookmaker: Paddy Power
Paddy Power offers a great free bet when you sign up, it’s where you often find the most generous odds, and there are lots of Money-Back Specials every week. Open an account with a £25 free bet.